Kim Jong-un

News about Kim Jong-un, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 12, 2015

Russian Foreign Ministry announces agreement with North Korea to declare 2015 'Year of Friendship' between countries; declaration, which follows confirmation that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will visit Moscow in May, highlights countries' growing diplomatic ties and strained relations with West. MORE

Feb. 3, 2015

United Nations special investigator Marzuki Darusman, who has been tasked with looking into human rights abuses in North Korea, says in interview that ruling Kim family has to be replaced in order to break up country's network of prison camps; Darusman cites cult leadership system as impediment to ending abuses. MORE

Jan. 29, 2015

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is planning to visit Moscow in May, hoping to strengthen ties between nations whose relations with west have faltered; visit will mark Kim's first trip abroad since coming to power in 2011. MORE

Jan. 25, 2015

Some North Korean defectors are at forefront of efforts to smuggle South Korean soap operas into North, pointing to themselves as examples of how such television programs show disparities between the two countries; North's leader Kim Jong-un has struggled to balance opening country enough to keep top loyalists happy while preventing influx of material contradicting government propaganda about inferiority of South and capitalism. MORE

Jan. 22, 2015

Russia invites North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to visit during its May 9 celebrations of 70th anniversary of Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany; trip would be Kim's first abroad since coming to power in 2011. MORE

Jan. 12, 2015

Democracy activists say some North Koreans reacted with anger and derision in secretly watching Sony Pictures movie The Interview, about fictional plot to assassinated leader Kim Jong-un; point out few will risk seeing film but those who did had wounded feelings over their sense of national pride. MORE

Jan. 1, 2015

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un addresses nation in New Year's speech, saying he is looking to improve relations with South Korea and is willing to sit down with Pres Park Geun-hye; analysts question whether Kim's overture is genuine. MORE

Dec. 24, 2014

Sony Pictures, in reversal, says it will release controversial film The Interview in small number of theaters on Christmas; will also possibly offer video-on-demand availability; comedy about assassination of North Korea's ruler Kim Jong-un had been pulled after hackers threatened violence against theaters that showed it; decision was criticized by irate Hollywood stars, free-speech advocates, and even Pres Obama. MORE

Dec. 24, 2014

News analysis; North Korea's cyberattack on Sony Pictures illustrates absence of treaties, laws and best practices to deal with digital conflicts; United States took extraordinary step of identifying North Korea as culprit, but has refused to release details and has not claimed responsibility for counterattack; question remains whether ruler Kim Jong-un will back off or push forward with new attacks. MORE

Dec. 20, 2014

Mike Hale Critic's Notebook column holds film The Interview is less about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un than it is a typical American comedy, making nation's response all the more surprising; says Sony should have never caved in to North Korea's far-fetched threats. MORE

Dec. 18, 2014

Sony Pictures Entertainment drops plans for Christmas Day release of movie The Interview, which depicts assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, after receiving terror threat against theaters; movie has been at center of devastating hacker attack on Sony. MORE

Dec. 15, 2014

Sony Pictures' decision to greenlight film The Interview, comedy that centers on assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has led company into geopolitical mess; decision enraged Kim, and company became target of brutal cyberattack, with suspicion falling on North Korean cyberunit; leaked emails reveal unusual tension over film between Sony's executives in US and Japan, where North Korea looms as serious threat. MORE

Dec. 4, 2014

South Korean news organization confirms that North Korea has formally barred anyone except leader Kim Jong-un from having given name of Jong-un; those who had name before Kim came to power in 2011 have been forced to give it up; making name sacrosanct joints Kim dynasty's other outsize displays of power and serves as evidence that Kim Jong-un is as controlling as his predecessors. MORE

Nov. 27, 2014

North Korea’s state-run news media reports that leader Kim Jong-un’s younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, has become senior official in ruling Workers’ Party. MORE

Nov. 26, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un condemns American 'aggressors' as 'cannibals' during outdoor rally in Pyongyang; gathering is in protest of American-supported move at the United Nations to refer North's leaders to an international court for human rights abuses. MORE

Nov. 6, 2014

North Korea's state-run news media shows leader Kim Jong-un walking without a cane, indicating that he has recovered enough to move about without assistance after what South Korean intelligence officials called an operation on his left foot. MORE

Oct. 29, 2014

United Nations human rights investigator Marzuki Darusman announces that diplomats from North Korea are now prepared to invite him to visit country for the first time; offer is predicated on demand that growing effort to prosecute leader Kim Jong-un and other North Korean officials for crimes against humanity is dropped. MORE

Oct. 24, 2014

Diplomatic Memo; series of gestures by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, most dramatically release of imprisoned American tourist Jeffrey E Fowle, has raised hopes of a rapprochement with the United States; actions could revive a debate over North Korea policy inside the White House that has been dormant since 2012. MORE

Oct. 23, 2014

North Korea says its leader Kim Jong-un personally ordered release of Jeffrey E Fowle, one of three Americans detained there for nearly six months, after considering request from Pres Obama; analysts say sudden release of Fowle may have been conciliatory gesture from Kim to bolster his government’s efforts to engage Washington in a dialogue. MORE

Oct. 21, 2014

Jang Il-hun, North Korea's United Nations envoy, warns his country will take unspecified countermeasures if any efforts is made to charge Kim Jong-un with crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court; statement comes in reaction to United Nations report. MORE

Oct. 14, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits housing project and is seen walking with a cane; Kim's prolonged absence from public view generated speculation about his health and grip on power. MORE

Oct. 11, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who has been absent from public view for more than a month, skips important annual ritual honoring anniversary of founding of governing Worker's Party, likely fueling further speculation about whether he has lost his grip on power; news comes as South and North Korea exchange machine-gun fire across heavily armed border. MORE

Oct. 9, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has not been seen in public in over a month and his disappearance has generated endless debate; American and South Korean officials say while they think the young leader might be ailing, there is no sign that there has been a coup. MORE

Sep. 27, 2014

North Korea's state-run television station runs video of leader Kim Jong-un walking with a limp, a rare revelation about his health; some analysts have speculated that Kim could be suffering from gout or arthritis, in addition to his obesity. MORE

Jul. 2, 2014

Experts on North Korean behavior say country's decision to try American tourists Matthew Miller and Jeffrey Edward Fowle on charges of committing hostile acts against country could reflect the isolated nation's frustration that it is not drawing United States' full attention; some even suggest decision could be retaliation over release of movie The Interview, comedy about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. MORE

Jun. 27, 2014

North Korea fires three short-range projectiles off its east coast, day after it warned of retaliation against release of American comedy film The Interview, which involves plot to kill its leader, Kim Jong-un. MORE

Jun. 26, 2014

North Korea reacts with usual bluster over movie The Interview, comedy about plot to assassinate Kim Jong-un, calling it an 'act of war' and flinging threats at Obama administration, which it implies masterminded film to undermine their nation. MORE

May. 20, 2014

Popular North Korean singer Hyon Song-wol appears on national television, despite news reports that she had been executed on orders by country's leader Kim Jong-un, said to be her one-time boyfriend; episode underscores near impossibility of saying with certainty what is happening in North Korea, world's most opaque country; state news media has nurtured image of Kim as a vicious dictator. MORE

May. 3, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un removes Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, who was widely considered to be second-most influential person in Kim's government, from top military and party posts; is latest in list of top officials who have been purged or demoted as Kim consolidates his power. MORE

Apr. 25, 2014

News analysis; Pres Obama, in his visit to South Korea, will confront consequences of underestimating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who has proved to be more ruthless and tactically skilled than expected; under Kim, North Korea has used its nuclear program even more aggressively, and now appears to be making preparations for a fourth nuclear test. MORE

Apr. 10, 2014

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un is re-elected as head of his country’s top governing agency as its rubber-stamp Parliament meets to help consolidate his power by filling top leadership posts vacated in purges. MORE

Mar. 10, 2014

North Korea holds its first parliamentary elections under leadership of Kim Jong-un; North Korean authorities hold such elections as means of checking up on political allegiance of citizens, as well as ability of Worker's Party to mobilize residents; Kim is expected to use polls and newly elected legislature to elevate officials loyal to him and consolidate power. MORE

Feb. 19, 2014

Chinese officials criticize United Nations report that serves notice to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un; report says he might be personally held liable in court for crimes against humanity committed by state institutions and officials under his direct control. MORE

Feb. 18, 2014

United Nations panel has served notice to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that he may be personally held liable in court for crimes against humanity committed by state institutions and officials under his direct control. MORE

Feb. 3, 2014

Editorial welcomes North Korea's acceptance of South Korea's proposal to hold long-overdue family reunions between citizens of both countries; warns North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's unpredictability means that skepticism is warranted, particularly given the continuing advancement of his country's nuclear weapons program. MORE

Jan. 10, 2014

Dennis Rodman apologizes for comments suggesting that American missionary Kenneth Bae, jailed in North Korea, deserves his fate, saying he he had been drinking at the time; Rodman has come under sharp criticism for positive statements he has made about leader Kim Jong-un during a visit to North Korea, leading a group of retired NBA players in an exhibition game in Pyongyan. MORE

Jan. 8, 2014

Charles D Smith, former player for the New York Knicks, says he feels remorse for traveling to North Korea with Dennis Rodman for a game on the leader Kim Jong-un’s birthday; says event has been overshadowed by politics and Rodman’s inappropriate comments. MORE

Jan. 7, 2014

Dennis Rodman is the ringleader of an unlikely group of basketball players arriving in North Korea that has left the diplomatic corps puzzled and perhaps a little jealous over the access to Kim Jong-un; 12-member team, which includes former NBA players, was hastily assembled by Rodman despite the misgivings of human rights activists, American officials and the league itself. MORE

Jan. 1, 2014

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un calls for improving relations with South Korea and boasts of his regime's tightened grip on power in his first public speech since the purge and execution of his uncle Jang Song-thaek. MORE

Dec. 24, 2013

Accounts being pieced together by South Korean and American officials say the execution of Jang Song-thaek, uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, had its roots in a firefight over who would profit from the country’s most lucrative exports: coal, clams and crabs; open warfare between North Korean military and Jang's loyalists reveals huge fracture inside country's elite over who pockets money earned overseas. MORE

Dec. 21, 2013

North Korea sends letter to South Korean Pres Park Geun-hye, threatening retaliatory strikes if anti-Pyongyang rallies by conservative activists in Seoul are not stopped; North has made threats in past, but latest comes amid concern that Kim Jong-un might stage attack to encourage domestic unity after execution of his uncle Jang Song-thaek. MORE

Dec. 20, 2013

Dennis Rodman, former NBA star who arrived in North Korea to tutor nation's best basketball players at behest of leader Kim Jong-un, is doing so under sponsorship of Paddy Power, Europe’s leading Internet gambling business. MORE

Dec. 18, 2013

Top North Korean party and military officials make speeches in support of Kim Jong-un at event to commemorate second anniversary of death of his father, Kim Jong-il; analysts say event was staged in part to show that Kim is in control after execution of his uncle, Jang Song-thaek. MORE

Dec. 16, 2013

Kim Kyong-hui, aunt of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is included in roster of top officials appointed to committee in charge of organizing state funeral for former party secretary Kim Kuk-tae; inclusion on list, considered indicator of governmental favor, suggests that she has politically survived purge and execution of her husband Jang Song-thaek. MORE

Dec. 14, 2013

News analysis; foreign affairs experts are scrambling to explain execution of Jang Song-thaek, uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un; are most divided over whether execution suggests that Kim has taken full charge of country two years after his father Kim Jong-il's death, or has been weakened by Jang's alleged betrayal. MORE

Dec. 13, 2013

North Korea says Jang Song-thaek, uncle and presumed mentor of its leader Kim Jong-un, was executed for plotting a military coup. MORE

Dec. 10, 2013

China's leaders are surprised and unnerved by public ouster of North Korea's Jang Song-thaek, country's No. 2 figure and revered uncle and mentor of paramount leader Kim Jong-un; as North's longtime protector and economic lifeline, China had built good relationship with Jang and any shift by China concerning North Korea has potential to significantly alter political equilibrium in Asia. MORE

Dec. 9, 2013

North Korea confirms that Jang Song-thaek, once powerful uncle of Kim Jong-un, has been stripped of his positions and expelled from ruling Worker's party in most prominent purge since Kim took power in 2011. MORE

Dec. 8, 2013

North Korea’s state-run television re-broadcasts documentary about leader Kim Jong-un after re-editing it to remove all images of his uncle Jang Song-thaek, who South Korean intelligence officials believe was recently dismissed from all his posts. MORE

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Vladimir V. Putin is likely to be a featured guest at a military parade in Tiananmen Square marking the defeat of Japan in World War II, an event seen as underscoring the anti-Japanese theme of China’s foreign poicy under Xi Jinping.

The special United Nations investigator of human rights abuses in North Korea suggested that the ruling Kim family must be replaced before the country’s extensive network of prison camps can be broken up.